Jaunted

Bad Ideas / Political Travel / Oprah Winfrey / Cairo Travel / Celeb Travel / Egypt Travel / Tahrir Square / → All Tags

The Oprah Show: Live From Tahrir Square?

Cairo's Tahrir Square is clear of the makeshift dwellings of the protestors who were in it for the long-haul before Mubarak stepped down, and now, as the site of another event in the country's history, Cairo is looking to capitalize on the Square's popularity...and fast. So fast indeed, that they've invited lovely little Oprah Winfrey (and other famous faces) to come and do shows in the Square.

The brainstormer behind this is Egypt's freshly appointed Minister of Tourism, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, and he's got designs on more than just the queen of media. Nour is anxious to dip into social media as well, as Egyptian paper Al-Masry Al-Youm reports:

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TV Travel / An Idiot Abroad / Cairo Travel / Egypt Travel / → All Tags

'An Idiot Abroad' Visits Cairo, Luckily Before the Recent Turmoil

This week's episode of An Idiot Abroad landed Karl Pilkington right in the middle of the one world destination most people will be avoiding for the next few months: Cairo.

Obviously, the episode was filmed long before the recent turmoil in Egypt, not that it would have mattered much to the show's producer Ricky Gervais, who purposely tries to make each journey as uncomfortable as possible for his sidekick Pilkington.

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iPhone Travel Apps / Free Stuff / Cairo Travel / Taxis / iPhone / Egypt Travel / Emergencies / → All Tags

Developers Make iPhone Apps Free to Help Travelers Stuck by Cairo Protests and US Snow

This may be a long shot, but for those whom it touches, it could be a lifesaver:

The maker of one of our favorite favorite iPhone Travel Apps (Tokyo Teleport), is offering their newest app, Cairo Taxi Guide, for FREE right now in order to aid any foreigners in Egypt who are perhaps not so well-versed in Arabic.

The premise is simple; search a glossary of landmarks, museums, and really everything else in Cairo in order to discover how to say that you'd like to go there, in Arabic. The app provides clear taxi cards to show to your driver, so that you aren't literally just taken for a ride. They've also released similar Taxi Guide apps, priced between $5.99 and $9.99 each, for Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

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Political Travel / Egypt Travel / Travel News / Cairo Travel / → All Tags

Where Exactly is Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt?

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It's located right at the Sadat metro station in the center

Conflicting reports from major news outlets today tell us that anywhere from 200,000 to 2 million protesters have converged upon Tahrir Square in Cairo, where the anti-Mubarak chanting and demonstrating has reached a fever pitch on this, the ninth day of protests in Cairo. And, in the news, it's all Tahrir Square, Tahrir Square, Tahrir Square...but what is the significance of this spot, where exactly is it, in relation to the rest of Cairo, and why are the protesters coming here?

The answer is simple: protesters are gathering at Tahrir Square because, in a bustling and crowded city like Cairo, Tahrir is one of the biggest open expanses in the city. Plus, it's located at a major traffic nexus, for subway and other transportation. But most importantly, Tahrir is the historical site of past protests, including that against the War in Iraq. If you want to know even more, Tahrir is very important to the modern Cairo, as within the vicinity of it are many western 4- and 5-star hotels (like the Hilton, Intercontinental, Kempinski and Four Seasons), the Egyptian Museum, the American University, and essentially, the heart of tourism.

If you, like us, are curious about exactly how many people are in Tahrir Square today, check out WIRED's great article that works out approximating it.

Travel Hell / Airports / Cairo Travel / Egypt Travel / Political Travel / CAI / Delta / EgyptAir / → All Tags

Wherever You Are, Be Happy You're Not at Cairo International Airport

Where are you right now? Since it's Monday, you're likely back to work and daydreaming of somewhere else. Well, take a moment today to be thankful for the fact that you are not one of the desperate thousands trapped in the humanity of Cairo International Airport as the place has broken down into chaos. MSNBC noted one particularly crazed moment at the airport: "By midday, an announcement filtered through the crowd instructing groups of Danish, German, Chinese, British and Canadian passengers that their governments had sent planes to evacuate them, prompting a nervous stampede toward the gates."

With many airlines temporarily cutting off their Cairo routes "until further notice" and a large percentage of both airport and airline employees unable to even make it to the airport to carry out their jobs of getting people out, CAI more than qualifies as a complete sh*tshow. Let it also be known that with the internet down, for those travelers still in Egypt rearranging travel plans is no small feat.

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Aeroflot / Airfare Deals / Cairo Travel / → All Tags

Has Anyone Flown Aeroflot Lately?

When we haven't traveled in a few weeks, we get serious ants in our pants and we begin to consider anywhere in the world so long as there's some special or deal. Finding ourselves currently in such a mood, we jumped at @airfarewatchdog's tweet that flights to Cairo, Egypt on Russian airline Aeroflot in February were showing up under $500, including all taxes and fees.

Indeed we found the promised fares right on Aeroflot's website, with departures at a "promotional fare" of $67 each way to Cairo, switching planes in Moscow. Add on taxes and fees, and the total comes to a meager $501.70. We can't even get from NYC to London for that, but Egypt? Okay!

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